HOOVER, Alabama -- Donte Moncrief had a 31-yard catch under his belt and the Ole Miss offense was rolling against Alabama.

A few plays after Moncrief's big grab, Rebels running back Jeff Scott rushed 1 yard into the end zone to put Ole Miss ahead, 7-6. It was the fifth game of the 2012 season, but just the first time Alabama had faced a deficit.

Christion Jones' kickoff return for a touchdown just a few moments later ended Ole Miss' lead for good, but that short period of glory proved that this wasn't the same Rebels team that went 2-10 in 2011.

Ole Miss finished the season with a victory in the BBVA Compass Bowl to go 7-6 in Hugh Freeze's first season.

Moncrief wouldn't go as far to say the Rebels' performance against Alabama served as a springboard toward some big wins in the second half of the season. He was more concerned with how Ole Miss allowed Alabama to take control in the second half and run away with a 33-14 victory.

"The defense was playing great," Moncrief said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. "They was laying big hits and we just
needed to put up some points. Just some small things. We were getting
all the way down the field but we weren't scoring. We've got to score
when we get on the goal line and in the red zone.

"We just made some mistakes that we shouldn't have made, some mistakes we
know we don't need to make. We just have to stay focused and keep the
offense going."

Ole Miss and Alabama will face each other on Sept. 28 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

About five minutes into his interview Tuesday, Moncrief was asked a simple question: How do you beat Alabama?

"You've got to fight them just like they're coming to fight you," Moncrief said. "You've
got to lock the gate and give them everything you got and put up a hard
fight and may the best team win."

Moncrief said it doesn't bother him to be play annually against a team that has been the best three of the past four years.

"They're No. 1 all the time," Moncrief said. "You've just got to come out and don't look
at the number. They play just like you. They're human beings just like
you are."